I gain ten years' worth of cultivation every day, and even geniuses will only see my doorstep!

The Demon Prince glanced at the Beast King, who nodded. The two pounced on Qin Yuan from the left and right simultaneously. The Demon Prince's demonic clones transformed into six black shadows, piercing from six directions. The Beast King's white tiger opened its mouth and spewed a burst of flame, blocking Qin Yuan's retreat.

Qin Yuan parried with his bone blade, the Demon Prince's dagger leaving three shallow cuts on his body, tearing his robes and drawing blood. Ice Maiden attacked, freezing the White Tiger's limbs; the tiger roared, struggling but unable to move. The Beast King, enraged, abandoned Qin Yuan and attacked Ice Maiden, his fists slamming down with immense force. Ice Maiden dodged, the ice wall shattering with a single punch. Qin Yuan faced the Demon Prince alone. The Demon Prince's six clones were indistinguishable from each other; Qin Yuan closed his eyes. He relied not on his eyes, but on his killing intent. The Demon Prince's killing intent was cold, like a snake, coming from the left. Qin Yuan sidestepped, his bone blade slashing to the left. The Demon Prince's true form appeared, his dagger blocking, but he was knocked back. Qin Yuan struck the Demon Prince in the chest with his blade; the Demon Prince groaned, a deep, bone-revealing wound appearing on his chest. He retreated, clutching his wound, fear in his eyes. Jian Wushuang watched coldly from the sidelines, never intervening.

Ten more were eliminated on the arena, leaving twenty. Qin Yuan had killed three, securing first place. The melee paused, and the tournament announced the start of the second round—the battle for the top ten, with the remaining twenty drawing lots for one-on-one elimination. Qin Yuan drew a swordsman at the third level of the Void Sovereign realm. The opponent looked at Qin Yuan's bone blade and sneered, "Void God Emperor? You dare use a sword?" Qin Yuan remained silent. With his first strike, he severed the opponent's sword. With his second strike, he severed the opponent's arm. With his third strike, he held the sword to the opponent's neck. The opponent conceded defeat, his face deathly pale.

Jian Wushuang drew the Demon Prince's sword. The two stood in the center of the arena. The Demon Prince's injuries hadn't healed, but his eyes were fierce. Jian Wushuang drew his sword and unleashed a powerful strike, the sword energy like a rainbow. The Demon Prince used his Shadow Dance to dodge, but Jian Wushuang's sword was faster. The second strike pierced the Demon Prince's left shoulder, and the third deflected his dagger. The Demon Prince knelt on the ground, Jian Wushuang's sword tip pressed against his throat. The Demon Prince conceded defeat and was carried off the stage. Bing Ji easily defeated her opponent, freezing his legs with a single palm strike, rendering him immobile and forcing him to concede. The Beast King also advanced; his white tiger shattered his opponent's protective energy with a single bite, causing the opponent to surrender in fear. The top ten were determined: Qin Yuan, Jian Wushuang, Bing Ji, the Beast King, and six other prodigies.

Jian Wushuang walked up to Qin Yuan. Her white robes were new, clean and bloodless. Her sword was also polished, gleaming brightly. "See you in the finals. I'll win fair and square once." Qin Yuan said, "You won't win." Jian Wushuang turned and left without stopping. The tournament announced that the top ten would have a day off and would enter the secret realm the next day to compete for the inheritance.

The following day, the top ten contestants stood before the entrance to the secret realm. The entrance was a golden vortex, three zhang in diameter, with runes flowing around its edges and starlight shimmering within. The Celestial Elder personally opened the secret realm, and the ten contestants stepped inside one by one.

The secret realm was a vast expanse of land, the sky purple, the earth black, with mountains and rivers in the distance. The spiritual energy was several times denser than outside, but the air was thick with the stench of blood. Qin Yuan and Bing Ji formed an alliance, walking side by side. Bing Ji said, "Eliminate the others first, then we'll duel." Qin Yuan nodded. Jian Wushuang acted alone, her figure disappearing into the distant mountains. The Beast King allied with two other prodigies, forming groups of three. The Demon Prince, though injured, still entered the secret realm, alone, like a wounded viper, hiding in the shadows.

Qin Yuan sensed a powerful demonic beast within the secret realm and warned Bing Ji to be careful. They hadn't gone ten miles when a demonic beast at the sixth level of the Void Sovereign realm emerged from the ground. It resembled a giant scorpion, with a black stinger and its carapace covered in bone spurs. Qin Yuan drew the beast's attention from the front, while Bing Ji circled around to the side, plunging an ice blade into the beast's abdomen. The beast struggled, its stinger sweeping towards Bing Ji. Qin Yuan leaped up, severing the stinger with his bone blade. The beast, in pain, turned and lunged at Qin Yuan. Bing Ji seized the opportunity to freeze the beast's head, and Qin Yuan plunged his blade into its skull. The beast fell to the ground, its corpse dissipating into specks of light, leaving behind a Source Crystal. Qin Yuan collected it, and the two continued onward.

The Beast King set a trap, luring Qin Yuan and Bing Ji into the canyon. The canyon was flanked by steep cliffs, with only two exits. The Beast King and two other prodigies lay in ambush on the cliffs, ready to attack as soon as Qin Yuan entered. Boulders tumbled down, and arrows rained down. Qin Yuan sensed something was wrong—the canyon was too quiet; there was no wind, no insect chirping. He ordered Bing Ji to feign an attack from the front, while he circled around to the rear. Bing Ji froze the canyon entrance, blocking their retreat, while simultaneously firing ice spikes at the archers on the cliffs. The Beast King ordered an attack, and the two prodigies leaped down from the cliffs, flanking Qin Yuan from the left and right. Qin Yuan unleashed a flurry of bone blade strikes; the first prodigy's sword was severed, the bone blade slicing across his throat; the second prodigy tried to escape, but Qin Yuan caught up, piercing his back with a bone blade. The Beast King charged on his white tiger, the tiger spewing flames from its mouth; Qin Yuan dodged, his bone blade striking the tiger's forelegs. The white tiger nimbly dodged, and the beast king slammed down with both fists. Qin Yuan took the punch head-on and was knocked back, his tiger's mouth split open.

Qin Yuan burned a portion of his lifespan, and forty patterns on his bone blade lit up, their golden light dazzling. He slashed at the white tiger's head; the tiger couldn't dodge in time and its head was severed, blood gushing out. The Beast King fell to the ground, trying to escape, but Bing Ji froze his legs. Qin Yuan's bone blade was held to his neck. "Hand over the token, and I'll spare your life." The Beast King's face was deathly pale; he handed over the token and was teleported out of the secret realm. Qin Yuan obtained his first token. Bing Ji looked at his pale face after burning his lifespan and said, "You shouldn't always use this trick." Qin Yuan said, "I'll die if I don't." Bing Ji didn't speak again.

The Demon Prince secretly followed Qin Yuan, and while he was engaged in fierce combat with a level-five Void Sovereign demonic beast, he launched a sneak attack from behind. He struck Qin Yuan in the back with a palm strike, causing Qin Yuan to cough up blood and stagger forward. The demonic beast seized the opportunity to pounce, but Qin Yuan dodged to the side, his bone blade piercing the beast's skull. Bing Ji, enraged, joined the battle, engaging the Demon Prince in fierce combat. Although injured, the Demon Prince's demonic clones were unpredictable and difficult for Bing Ji to defeat. Qin Yuan scrambled to his feet, forty patterns on his bone blade gleaming brightly, and he and Bing Ji attacked the Demon Prince together. The Demon Prince was in grave danger; he bit his tongue, spitting out a mouthful of blood essence, detonating a demonic artifact. Black demonic energy exploded, the shockwave sweeping across the area. Qin Yuan protected Bing Ji, but was blasted away, his left arm broken, bone protruding from his flesh. The Demon Prince escaped in the chaos, disappearing into the darkness deep within the secret realm. Qin Yuan gave chase, but the Demon Prince's aura vanished, and he could not catch up. "He can't have gone far," Bingji said. She tore off a piece of her robe and began bandaging Qin Yuan's severed arm. Her technique was practiced; it wasn't her first time bandaging someone. Qin Yuan looked at her; she kept her head down, focused on wrapping the bandage, and didn't say a word.

In the center of the secret realm stood a sword monument. A hundred feet tall, entirely black, it was engraved with countless sword marks. Each mark contained the sword dao insights of the Chaos Heavenly Lord. Jian Wushuang stood before the monument, eyes closed, motionless. Qin Yuan and Bing Ji approached, but she did not react. She was comprehending. Qin Yuan didn't understand swords, but he understood the killing intent on the monument. It was a relentless, unyielding killing intent, very similar to his bone blade. Bing Ji said, "Jian Wushuang's sword dao talent is the best in the Chaos Ancestral Domain." Qin Yuan said, "That's why she's so strong." He sat cross-legged before the monument, not to comprehend the sword dao, but to feel that killing intent.